As you’re eating Thanksgiving leftovers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, here are three things to keep an eye on around baseball today:
1. Black Friday shopping:
After a quiet Thanksgiving Day, will any teams resume their offseason shopping on Black Friday? It’s not typically a busy day on the baseball calendar, but it’s not as if every front office executive around the league takes the day off. Three years ago, for instance, news broke that the Mets had signed Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar on Black Friday.
If any team is going to be active today, the Blue Jays might be the best bet. After all, Canadian Thanksgiving has long since passed, and the Jays have been active on Black Friday before; they traded for Josh Donaldson on Black Friday in 2014 and signed free agent J.A. Happ on Black Friday in 2015. Toronto has been linked to several of the top free agents this winter, including Juan Soto, Max Fried, and Anthony Santander. Most recently, a report from Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet connected the Blue Jays to Alex Bregman and Luis Severino.
2. Hyeseong Kim to be posted?
According to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News, Hyeseong Kim left for Los Angeles earlier today in anticipation of his move from the KBO to MLB. His current team, the Kiwoom Heroes, has not yet posted him, but they are discussing the topic with Kim’s agents at CAA. The three-time KBO Golden Glove winner told Yoo he expects to be posted after Thanksgiving. That suggests he’ll be available to sign with MLB clubs as early as next week. After he is officially posted, he will have 45 days to sign a contract before his posting window closes.
Kim came in at no. 26 on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list this offseason. And unlike fellow international star Roki Sasaki, Kim is old enough and has the necessary amount of professional experience to sign with any MLB club for as many years and dollars as he can command. Given his plus speed, his defensive talents at second base, his well-regarded bat-to-ball skills, and his youth (he won’t turn 26 until January), the MLBTR staff predicted him to sign a three-year, $24 million deal.
3. Soto sweepstakes continue:
Until he puts pen to paper on a (presumably) record-breaking contract, Juan Soto’s free agency will remain the biggest story of the 2024-25 MLB offseason. The latest update in the Soto saga, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, is that the Yankees increased their offer on Wednesday, although it is not clear what their previous offer was or how much they upped the original number.
More tidbits from Heyman’s reporting include the fact that Soto would prefer a long-term deal as opposed to a shorter contract with a higher AAV. However, he is likely to ask for opt-outs in whatever deal he signs. The Yankees made it clear they are willing to include opt-outs in their offer, but reportedly, so are multiple other suitors. Don’t expect Soto to sign this weekend, but keep an eye out for reports and rumors that will surely continue to trickle out.
Do they get discounts on Soto today?
If the red sox were really serious about soto, theo epstein would have been having thanksgiving dinner with him like he did with curt schilling.
My family talks about that every Thanksgiving.
As much as Schilling was a great pitcher, I wouldn’t want to spend a dinner with him talking about his inner feelings.
Are you afraid of being expose to some truth?
just a shakedown scheme involving software…
I would like to see the Jays competitive again, the AL East needs them to be. With the Rays expected to have another losing season, I wouldn’t want it to be a 3-team division. And the better the divisional competition, the more pressure on Red Sox ownership to start trying to win again.
Loved seeing that Passan might’ve been scooped on this deal. Soto to Boston looking pretty good right now.
I still think Soto would be signed by now if he was willing to move to 2B. It’s all the rage to offer options to perspective employers.
@stymeedone
Soto needs to move to DH. Not a good fielder. His only value is in his bat and getting on base.
@Old York.
If Soto goes to DH we are stuck with Devers at 3rd.
I’m reading Red Sox for 12 or 13 years at $600 – $625M.
Please let the rumors be true!!!
According to Jon Heyman teams are waiting until Cyber Monday to make lucrative contract offers.
From my limited understanding, besides being a fantastic defensive secondbaseman,Kim has graded out pretty well at SS too. I wonder if Atlanta might pursue him as an alternative in their search for a potential starting SS.
If he could play adequate defense, hit .250, and steal 30 bases he could be a bargain.
He’s definitely going to have a market, maybe even 8-10 teams interested?
southi: I think he’ll do better than .250. And I also think the Braves would be the perfect team for him.
Oh I seriously think he will also hit better than.250, but I just tried purposely to put a lower baseline.
I believe that he will probably hit in the .275 to .295 range, albeit without much power.
southi: Agree with the potential BA. But the articles on this site are so big on HRs. If a guy like Kim gets on base hitting, say, over .300, steals bases to get into scoring position and plats solid defense, I’d take that player on my team. There are other ways to create runs besides HRs.
Burnes, Fried, Adames and Santander instead of Soto. Imagine the Red Sox or Blue Jays if they did this
Yo – I can also imagine the players that Adames and Santander replace end up being better than them. That’s why I’d rather wait until the trade deadline before getting rid of any of their position players, unless they can find takers for Story, Rafaela or Grissom.
FPG, more than anyone else Santandar would be replacing O’Neil (sp?). I think. O’Neil with brutal K rate plus Santandar being an everyday player is an upgrade for Sox?
Jeff – Yes I agree he’d be an upgrade over O’Neill, but O’Neill is already gone.
Santander playing every day in the outfield would mean either Duran, Anthony, or Abreu going away.
They won’t move Anthony under any condition, moving Duran would be a clear downgrade, and Abreu not only has the better career OPS but is also a GG winner and is 5 years younger with 5 years of team control remaining.
If Santander was willing to accept DH money to be the Red Sox DH, then sure I’d love to have him.
Great intel. Thanks Fever.
@ Big Yo,
Another list…
Top of the order…
Duran
Devers
Soto
Casas
Recipe to eating any pitcher for lunch
DBH – Soto would definitely slot in as the #2.
Four lefties at the top of the lineup? Only Soto can hit lefties well.
Campbell will be batting in the upper part of the lineup.
Santander being a LHH kinda takes him out of the running. Teo instead and I’ll take that list.
And I’d hope they’re trying to attach Masa to any trade to clear the DH spot for Devers.
swanhenge: Santander is a switch hitter.
I still say the Pirates should take a chance on Goldschmidt
I’d love for the yankees to pass on Soto and sign Santander, for left field play the Martian in center and move judge back to right. Then get adames for 3b sign corbin burnes and tanner scott make a trade with the cubs for bellinger to play 1st and then go sign 2 middle relievers
Dmac: If they take on Bellinger’s ridiculous contract, they might as well sign Soto with that money. But I do agree that signing a few top FA, spread the wealth to fill more than one hole, would be a lot more productive than one superstar. They already have one.
I have been in contact with all my sources, in my head, and they all said their connections have informed them that the “Black Horse Angels” are the winners of the Soto Deal. My sources are always very informed & up to date!
I think Soto will go to the Dodgers. And I say that as a Yankee fan. Dodgers, Yankees or Mets.
andyger63: I think the Dodgers, who have said they have a limit on Soto, are more likely to concentrate on signing Sasaki.
I really hope he goes to the dodgers
Thanks to Darragh and Nick for keeping the news going on Thanksgiving. It was a good place to go when Uncle Dan starts telling the same story for the fourth year in a row.
The Phillies are just lurking there in the dark waiting for the time to strike and sign soto
If I was a POBO or GM in the Al East, the only reason to express interest in Soto would be to drive up the price to the Yankees and/or ensure he ends up in the NL with the Mets. Soto is a great player, but one or two great players is not enough to win the WS. For example, the Angels with Ohtani and Trout that could not get to the postseason.
IF I want to win, like the Yankees do, I rather spend that $45 million per year somewhere else and not be on the hook for that kind of money for more than a decade.
I think the phillies are gonna be the team in the end
Why would soto want opt outs?? That part doesnt make sense to me
If he signing the biggest deal ever
@johncoltrane I think he would want an opt out to potentially retest the market for a raise.
Because he’s 26, why wouldn’t he want to test the market again in a few years. Worse case scenario is he leaves, if not extorts a new, even more expensive deal to stay. I do hate the opt-outs as rule but i also see the benefit for the player.
Its been a Very quiet offseason so far
Tons of FAs
Bregman, alonso, burnes, fried, beiber, soto, roki, tyler oneill, adames, santander, teoscar, Christian walker, gleyber, eovaldi, flaherty, manea
Lfg alredy
1.Othani
2.Betts
3.Freeman
4.Soto
5.Smith
6.Muncy
7.Edmons
8.Lux
9.Pages
Maybe add Teo or Adames in that line up.
Giants have an opportunity to become the KBO all star team if posey plays his cards right.
Funny feeling Soto is going to the Redsox. They have TONS of money to spend snd have been waiting for this
Lol
No one is outbidding cohen
He’ll buy the redsox before he lets anyone sign soto away from him. Stop reading fake twitter news
Rick – You said the same thing about Ohtani, Yamamoto, etc.
Keep pushing those ticket sales bro!
While i would be absolutely shocked if Soto signed with the Sox the difference between those players and Soto is that there was likely a preference to sign on the west coast (i.e. closer to home) for Ohtani and Yamamoto than there is for Soto, who realistically is only signing with one of the coastline teams unless a team like the Tigers comes out of nowhere and gives him some ridiculous amount of money and a couple of Little Caesars franchises
Rsox – Absolutely Ohtani and Yamamoto wanted to play together in Southern Cal for the Dodgers and likely planned it, just like LeBron and Ray Allen planned to go to Miami together.
With Soto, having a close Dominican friend on the team is a huge factor for him. Two of his closest friends are Tatis and Vlad, I can see Soto playing for either the Padres or Jays if the money is close. The Jays can offer more money, but Soto has played for the Padres and loved it there.
The Yankees are going to give opt-outs? I wonder how the Cole situation plays into their thinking–and that of Soto and Boras.
Posting Kim a few days before the winter meetings is good timing on his agent’s part.
I think SF is a great fit but would like him here. First to give Moore time then to replace a traded Rengifo.
The Giants are a fit and so are the Padres to replace their likely outgoing Kim. As unusual as it sounds, since KBO postings are typically significantly less than NPB postings i wouldn’t rule out the Brewers who will have to replace Adames at SS
Good call on the Brewers. I hadn’t considered that but 3/24 for a potential starter at shortstop is easily doable for them.
Honestly I’m rooting for the giants to go get both Kims given the current middle infield situation.
That would be cool.
The latest update in the Soto saga, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, is that the Yankees increased their offer on Wednesday, although it is not clear what their previous offer was or how much they upped the original number.
How informative. Hey man, you’re not telling us a darn thing.
He’s doing what he’s supposed to do: get the other teams to increase their bids.
Anything coming from Jon is really coming from Boras.
I have it on good authority he was seen entering an Uber Black in Manhattan this morning ….
When someone writes, “he won’t turn 26 until January,” doesn’t this really mean he turns 26 in January?
Yes but the other wording adds dramatic effect…
Dunno, but it certainly would be dramatic if he didn’t turn 26 in January, or it happened before his birthday.
Also dramatic if he could defer his birthdays for the next five years…could be 25 for the length of the contract….
I wish the Yanks would do something bold and address other needs not contingent on Soto. The bullpen or 1b, 2b or 3rd off the top. Send a message to Soto that the team is dedicated to improving this team and willing to spend to do it. I think the Yanks also have some in-house options too. The Mets have a lot more heavy lifting to do too as they need to bring back or replace Alonzo and 3 of their top starters that are FA. They’ll likely be doing that pain heavy tax penalties too.
I bet that the Yankees offer was 15 years/$600M and they upped it to like 16 years/$680M- no deferrals, etc.
I wonder what the ultimate deciding factor will be- obviously he’s familiar with the Yankees organization, but I am guessing they pitches are related to how they’re committed to improving the team to more likely “guarantee” a World Series title or 5 over the duration of the deal.
Soto is a pipe dream for every other team then the Mets if it’s max dollars he wants. Cohen already been quoted as saying he will go 50 million over the top offer. Can you imagine the bidding war that would have broke out between George and Cohen if the elder Steinbrenner was still alive.
Or Mike Illich
If it’s notoriety Soto wants he should sign with the Mariners. If he helped bring a world series to Seattle he’d be a legend.
Yuk – Notoriety means becoming well known for something bad, I think you meant adulation ;o)
The Yankees are desperate. This year was their window. They see all the youth in Baltimore and Boston. Without Soto it’s back to Stanton to protect Judge in the lineup.
Soto is coming to the MN Twins. All this talk of selling the team and reducing payroll is all a scam to lull other teams into a sense of security lol;)
Rumors have Juan Soto’s sister shopping for apartments in Boston neighborhoods. More fuel for the fire.
Has anyone mentioned that Soto’s favorite team is the Red Sox?